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Interest is money paid by a borrower to a lender for a credit or a similar liability. It is the charge for the privilege of borrowing money. Important examples are bond yields, interest paid for bank loans, and returns on savings. Interest differs from profit in that it is paid to a lender, whereas profit is paid to an owner. In economics, the various forms of credit are also referred to as loanable funds. When money is borrowed, interest is typically calculated as a percentage of the principal, the amount owed to the lender. The percentage of the principal that is paid over a certain period of time (typically a year) is called the interest rate. Interest rates are market prices which are determined by supply and demand. They are generally positive because loanable funds are scarce. Interest is often compounded, which means that interest is earned on prior interest in addition to the principal. The total amount of debt grows exponentially, and its mathematical study led to the discovery of the number ''e''. In practice, interest is most often calculated on a daily, monthly, or yearly basis, and its impact is influenced greatly by its compounding rate. ==History of interest== According to historian Paul Johnson, the lending of "food money" was commonplace in Middle East civilizations as far back as 5000 BC. They regarded interest as legitimate since acquired seeds and animals could "reproduce themselves"; whilst the ancient Jewish religious prohibitions against usury (נשך ''NeSheKh'') were a "different view".〔Johnson, Paul: ''A History of the Jews'' (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 1987) ISBN 0-06-091533-1, pp. 172–73.〕 On this basis, the Laws of Eshnunna (early 2nd millennium BC) instituted a legal interest rate, specifically on deposits of dowry, since the silver being used in exchange for livestock or grain could not multiply of its own. Early Muslims called this ''riba'', translated today as the charging of interest. The First Council of Nicaea, in 325, forbade clergy from engaging in usury〔Conrad Henry Moehlman (1934). The Christianization of Interest. Church History, 3, p 6. doi:10.2307/3161033.〕 which was defined as lending on interest above 1 percent per month (12.7% APR). Ninth century ecumenical councils applied this regulation to the laity.〔〔Noonan, John T., Jr. 1993. "Development of Moral Doctrine." 54 Theological Stud. 662.〕 Catholic Church opposition to interest hardened in the era of scholastics, when even defending it was considered a heresy. St. Thomas Aquinas, the leading theologian of the Catholic Church, argued that the charging of interest is wrong because it amounts to "double charging", charging for both the thing and the use of the thing. In the medieval economy, loans were entirely a consequence of necessity (bad harvests, fire in a workplace) and, under those conditions, it was considered morally reproachable to charge interest. It was also considered morally dubious, since no goods were produced through the lending of money, and thus it should not be compensated, unlike other activities with direct physical output such as blacksmithing or farming.〔(No. 2547: Charging Interest )〕 For the same reason, interest has often been looked down upon in Islamic civilization, with almost all scholars agreeing that the Qur'an explicitly forbids charging interest. Medieval jurists developed several financial instruments to encourage responsible lending and circumvent prohibitions on usury, such as the Contractum trinius. In the Renaissance era, greater mobility of people facilitated an increase in commerce and the appearance of appropriate conditions for entrepreneurs to start new, lucrative businesses. Given that borrowed money was no longer strictly for consumption but for production as well, interest was no longer viewed in the same manner. The School of Salamanca elaborated on various reasons that justified the charging of interest: the person who received a loan benefited, and one could consider interest as a premium paid for the risk taken by the loaning party. There was also the question of opportunity cost, in that the loaning party lost other possibilities of using the loaned money. Finally and perhaps most originally was the consideration of money itself as merchandise, and the use of one's money as something for which one should receive a benefit in the form of interest. Martín de Azpilcueta also considered the effect of time. Other things being equal, one would prefer to receive a given good now rather than in the future. This preference indicates greater value. Interest, under this theory, is the payment for the time the loaning individual is deprived of the money. Economically, the interest rate is the cost of capital and is subject to the laws of supply and demand of the money supply. The first attempt to control interest rates through manipulation of the money supply was made by the French Central Bank in 1847. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「interest」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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